Positioning of a patient is an important consideration in surgery. Generally, surgeries and procedures performed to the posterior of a patient require the patient to be positioned in a prone position to provide access to a surgical site. Much of the positioning must be accomplished manually. This manual procedure can dislodge wires, tubes or other elements of the patient-monitoring equipment that is used during surgery, thereby risking disruption of the monitoring of the patient's condition.
Still another complication associated with manually positioning a patient onto an operating table for back surgery involves positioning the patient in proper alignment on the table. Some patients are placed on a “Wilson Frame” to properly align the back and thereby enhancing proper ventilation. The Wilson Frame allows the abdomen to hang pendulous and free. It is often difficult to manually manipulate the patient once placed onto the operating table to ensure proper alignment with the Wilson Frame underneath the patient.
Current devices, such as the Wilson Frame, used in operating rooms for supporting patients in a prone position with the abdomen free are passive devices designed only to provide support to the patient's trunk on the operating table during the surgery. It has been demonstrated that such passive frames can provide some changes in spinal configuration by virtue of the gravity effect. There is also danger in an abrupt movement of the patient's knees during the spinal procedure. Whereas studies have shown it is more preferable to raise the patient's legs very gradually; however, manually raising the legs in a gradual manner is difficult.
Other ancillary problems involve positioning of the head, chest, and legs with proper support and access for devices such as the endo-tracheal tube. Anthropometric considerations, such as patient size, including weight and width, cause the operating staff to ensure that proper padding and elevations are used to support the head, chest, and legs. It is not uncommon to find operating staff stuffing pillows or bedding underneath a patient to adjust for different anthropometric features of a patient.
There are dedicated-back-surgery systems on the market on which a patient can be positioned during a diverse set of orthopedic trauma, thoracic, and spinal surgery procedures. These devices, however, tend to be complicated and cumbersome to operate, and often subject the patient and operating staff to risk or death. For example, certain tables that allow tilting, or positioning, of the patient employ T-pins, which must be manually engaged and/or disengaged in order to position the device. There have been recent patient accidents following inadvertent and unexpected tilting of devices due to T-pin malfunction as a result of operator error. For instance, there are recent reports of injury-related incidents leading to product recalls of certain dedicated-back-surgery systems on the market today. A potential problem with these dedicated-back surgery systems is the potential for unexpected movement/tilting of the table, due to operator error of T-pin positioning. Also, patients and the equipment on which the patient is lying can drop several feet unto the floor due to staff error and the lack of redundant safety features, resulting in serious injury or death to the patient and/or operating staff. Such unanticipated movement of the patient during surgery can lead to paralysis or other catastrophic injuries to both the patient and operating staff.
Accordingly, there remains a need for equipment that may more safely and efficiently facilitate the positioning of a patient during spinal surgery.